Carrying handle



Jan. 16, 1968 G. RENNER ET AL CARRYING HANDLE Original Filed Jan. 4, 1965 Wyn r01? GERDA RENNER,

' HORST SCHNEI DER',

AUGUST SCHWARZKOPF ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofilice 3,363,827 Patented Jan. 16, 1968 3,363,827 CARRYING HANDLE Gerda Renner, Horst Schneider, and August Schwarzkotf,

Lengerich, Germany, assignors to Windmoller & Holscher, Lengerich, Germany Original application Jan. 4, 1%5, Ser. No. 422,986, now Patent No. 3,313,470, dated Apr. 11, 1967. Divided and this application N (W. 18, 1966, Ser. N o. 5%,4-30

4 Claims. (Cl. 229--S4) The present invention relates to carrying handles, and more particularly, to improved carrying handles made of thermoplastic material for carrying bags.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 422,986, filed Jan. 4 1965, now Patent Number 3,313,470, issued on Apr. 11, 1967.

Known carrying handles of thermoplastic material for carrying bags, which are preferably made from thermoplastic sheeting, consist of two handle sections, which engage each other in use, each of which comprise a grip portion and a connecting bar for connection to an associated bag wall. Various embodiments of such carrying bags are known. The two handle sections of a carrying handle are generally detachably connected to each other, by connecting elements similar to snap fasteners, so that these handle sections when superimposed can be further processed by being welded to the bag walls and thus serve as a closure for the finished bag.

In a first known embodiment, the handle sections have the same thickness throughout. In this case, the handle sections are much thicker than the bag walls so that the carrying handle fully meets the requirements regarding stiffness and strength in normal use. However, the grip base area of the carrying handle is too small so that particularly with bags filled with heavy materials the handle sections press or even cut into the hand of the person carrying the bag.

To avoid this disadvantage, it is already known to give the actual grip portion of each handle section an L shape so that in this portion a cross-section taken through the entire carrying handle represents an inverted T. This provides for a sufiiciently large grip base so that a forcing or cutting of the carrying handle into the hand is avoided even with heavily loaded bags.

A further disadvantage inherent in the embodiment of a carrying handle described first, if the handle sections are provided with protruding connecting elements, and in the embodiment described last, resides in the fact that it is impossible or extremely difiicult to use these carrying handles in machines for the automatic manufacture of carrying handles because the portions which protrude laterally outwardly from the handle sections, namely, the female elements and the associated male elements of the snap fastener-like joints, and the flanges of the actual grip portions, do not allow reliable, simple and quick feeding of the carrying handles from a magazine but result in the hooking of superimposed carrying handles with each other.

Another known carrying handle, which may be used for the automatic manufacture of carrying bags, is designed so that at least the grip portions of the two handle sections are so thick that a sufiiciently large grip base is provided. Such a carrying handle, however, involves a disproportionately large expenditure of material, which results in a substantial increase in manufacturing costs in a mass-manufactured product.

It is an object of the invention to provide for carrying bags a carrying handle which has a relatively light weight, can be simply and inexpensively manufactured and may be used in the automatic manufacture of carrying bags.

According to the invention, this is achieved in that in a carrying handle of the kind described initially hereinbefore at least the grip portions of the handle sections are channel-shaped in cross-section and the open sides of the channel sections face each other. As a result, the two grip portions form a box section, which has no bulkincreasing, outwardly protruding portions and affords the large grip base required. The design according to the invention enables a good stacking of the carrying handles in a magazine and the removal of the handle from the magazine by pushing, e.g., the lower-most carrying handle, both sections of which are detachably interconnected, out of the magazine in the automatic manufacture of carrying bags with-out the possibility of the hooking of the carrying handle with the next upper one.

If the connecting bars are provided with snap fastenerlike connecting elements, as has been described hereinbefore, the invention provides that no portion of the interengaging connecting elements protrude laterally beyond the lanes which contain the respective base surface of the channel section. As a result, the connecting elements t-oo cannot cause a hooking of individual carrying handles with each other.

The connecting bars may also be channel-shaped in cross-section in their upper portion protruding over the bag walls and in this case have also a high lateral stiffness.

In the manufacture of the carrying handles, the design according to the invention affords the additional advantage that all walls of the handle sections may have the same thickness so that there can be no distortion due to uneven coo-ling.

Another improvement afforded by the invention and applicable also independently of the foregoing features resides in the fact that the welding surfaces of the connecting bars are provided with a rib pattern or roughened. As only the outer parts are used tof orm the seam weld, the welding and cooling process is thereby accelerated.

A further three-dimensional design is characterized according to the invention in that the channel flanges which define the grip opening are extended beyond the longitudinal center plane of the handle and one of the channel flanges overlaps the other and extends to its base plane. It is thus insured that the carrying handle cannot gap in the magazine or during further use because the grip base is formed only by the overlapping flange.

Finally, it is a further feature of the invention to pro- 'VlClC a projection on the grip portion of each handle section, preferably on the side remote from the grip base, the projections of the two handle sections being staggered but relatively closely spaced. In this case, these projections form a convenient grip for separating the handle sections from each other. This may even be effected with one hand, when necessary. Without such projections, it is difficult to separate the two handle sections so as to open the handle, particularly when grip portions are provided with connecting elements as described hereinbefore, because the mutually abutting handle sections have no surfaces for engagement by the fingers to apply pressure in the opening direction.

The invention will be explained more fully hereinafter with reference to the drawings, which show embodiments by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View showing a carrying bag with the carrying handle illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 in an open condition.

The carrying handle 1 consists in a known manner of -,thermop-lastic material and comprises two handle sections 2 and 3. Each handle section comprises a grip portion 4 and a connecting bar for welding the carrying handle to the rim of the bag.

According to the present invention, the grip portion 4- and that portion of the connecting bar 5 which is not intended to be welded to the rim of the bag have a channel-section. The flanges of both handle sections 2, 3 are directed toward each other. When the handle sections are superimposed as shown in FIGURE 2, the two grip portions 4 and the two channel-shaped portions of the connecting bars 5 form box sections, which afford the abovementioned essential advantages, particularly when the carrying bags are manufactured by machine. It may be mentioned that the grip portion 4 of the handle sections is designed so that its top part 6, which is to be gripped by the hand, has a straight grip base 7.

As is particularly shown in FIGURE 2, those flanges of the channel sections of the handle portion 4 which define the grip hole are extended beyond the longitudinal center plane of the carrying handle. The flange of one grip portion overlaps the somewhat shorter flange 16 of the other grip portion and extends as far as to the base plane of the channel section of this other handle portion. For this reason, the section of that handle por tion which includes the flange 15 must be somewhat wider than the section of the other handle portion. During the manufacture, the overlapping flange 15 prevents a gaping of the carrying handle in the magazine and during subsequent use. The grip base 7 is formed only by the flange 15 of one grip portion. In the embodiment shown by way of example, the two handle sections are further interconnected at the ends of the connecting bars 5 by malefemale joints 8.

To facilitate the separation of the two handle sections, particularly when the grip portion of the handle sections is provided with engaging elements, each handle section 4 in this embodiment is provided on the outside of the crosspiece of the grip portion with a nose 120 or 121. The two noses are relatively staggered, but are not spaced apart, so that they form convenient grips for separating the handle sections.

FIGURE 3 shows a bag 122 of thermoplastic material having at its open filling end two opposite handle sections 2 and 3, which form together the carrying handle 1 according to FIGURES 1 and 2.

While there has been shown a preferred means of practicing the present invention it is to be understood that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. A carrying handle of thermoplastic material for carrying bags which are preferably made from thermoplastic sheeting, said handle comprising two sections .1 which detachably engage each other in use, each of said sections comprising a grip portion and a connecting bar adapted to be connected to an associated bag wall, said grip portion being channel-shaped in cross-section with the open sides of the channel sections facing each other, and engaging means formed on said sections for connecting said sections, no portion of said engaging means protruding laterally beyond the planes which contain the respective base surface of a channel section, said en gaging means including flanges of said channel defining a grip opening and extending beyond the longitudinal center plane of the handle, with one of said channel flanges adapted to engage in an overlapping manner a corresponding channel flange of the other section and extending to the base plane, thereof.

2. A carrying handle as defined in claim 1 wherein said connecting bars are channel-shaped cross-section with the open sides of the channel sections facing each other.

3. A carrying handle of thermoplastic material for carrying bags which are preferably made from thermoplastic sheeting, said handle comprising two sections which detachably engage each other in use, each of said sections comprising a grip portion and a connecting bar adapted to be connected to the associated bag wall, said grip portion being channel-shaped in cross-section with the open sides of the channel sections facing each other and engaging means formed on said sections for connecting said sections, no portion of said engaging means protruding laterally beyond the planes which contain the respective base surface of a channel section, and a projection disposed on the grip portion of each handle section for facilitating the separation of the handle sections, the projections of the two handle sections being staggered, but relatively closely spaced.

4. A carrying handle as defined in claim 3 wherein said projection is disposed on the upper side of said grip portion of each handle section.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Exam-liner. 

1. A CARRYING HANDLE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL FOR CARRYING BAGS WHICH ARE PREFERABLY MADE FROM THERMOPLASTIC SHEETING, SAID HANDLE COMPRISING TWO SECTIONS WHICH DETACHABLY ENGAGE EACH OTHER IN USE, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING A GRIP PORTION AND A CONNECTING BAR ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO AN ASSOCIATED BAG WALL, SAID GRIP PORTION BEING CHANNEL-SHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION WITH THE OPEN SIDES OF THE CHANNEL-SHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION WITH AND ENGAGING MEANS FORMED ON SAID SECTIONS FOR CONNECTING SAID SECTIONS, NO PORTION OF SAID ENGAGING MEANS PROTRUDING LATERALLY BEYOND THE PLANES WHICH CONTAIN THE RESPECTIVE BASE SURFACE OF A CHANNEL SECTION, AND ENGAGING MEANS INCLUDING FLANGES OF SAID CHANNEL DEFINING A GRIP OPENING AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER PLANE OF THE HANDLE, WITH ONE OF SAID CHANNEL FLANGES ADAPTED TO ENGAGE IN AN OVERLAPPING MANNER A CORRESPONDING CHANNEL FLANGE OF THE OTHER SECTION AND EXTENDING TO THE BASE PLANE, THEREOF. 